WisdomTree Sends Letter to Stockholders Outlining Board of Directors’ Essential Balance of Skillsets, Expertise and Institutional Knowledge
Board Has Right Mix of Perspectives and Experience to Guide
With Industry-leading Results, Including a Leading TSR Versus Peers Over 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year Time Periods, There is Zero Basis to Vote Against Any of WisdomTree’s Directors
Send
Vote “FOR” all nine director nominees using the WHITE proxy card, including
Stockholders can find out more about the proxy vote at the 2024 Annual Meeting by visiting the WisdomTree investor relations website and navigating to the page entitled “2024 Annual Meeting”: https://ir.wisdomtree.com/2024-annual-meeting-proxy-vote.
The full text of the letter is below:
Fellow WisdomTree stockholders:
As you likely know, WisdomTree (“WisdomTree” or the “Company”) has made extensive changes to its Board composition and corporate governance over the past three years, including refreshing the majority of our directors and fully declassifying the Board. We have engaged extensively with
There is no case for change at WisdomTree – and that includes our Board of Directors. Change for the sake of change isn’t smart – it is destructive. With industry-leading results, including leading Total Stockholder Return (TSR) versus our
The WisdomTree Board contains a stable balance of directors with the strategic vision, industry experience, and institutional knowledge critical to guide the Company’s strategy as a leading global financial innovator.
As part of his relentlessly disruptive campaign,
Furthermore, the benchmarking standards for Glass Lewis, one of the leading proxy advisory firms, note that “shareholders are best served when boards make an effort to ensure a constituency that is not only reasonably diverse on the basis of age, race, gender and ethnicity, but also on the basis of geographic knowledge, industry experience, board tenure and culture.”2 We agree that having an entirely legacy board may be harmful to a company and its stockholders, but so is an entirely new board. Rather, a healthy mix of board tenure is beneficial for a company, helping to enhance board functionality and ensuring that newer directors have access to deep historical knowledge of the business.
The Board refreshment we have undertaken in the past several years also extends to Board leadership positions. In 2023, we rotated every Board Committee Chair role, and these roles are now held by directors appointed in the past three years. Our longer-tenured directors provide these new Chairs with key support in their new roles.
In short, our six new directors greatly benefit from the deep knowledge about WisdomTree held by our three longer-standing directors, as does the Company as a whole. Change would only disrupt the meaningful consistency and balance that serves our stockholders well.
Vote “FOR”
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Mr. Steinberg is a visionary leader who founded WisdomTree in 1988 and is responsible for creating and developing the Company’s proprietary index methodology. -
He provides essential insight and guidance to our Board from a management perspective, and with his more than 35 years of experience, he has grown WisdomTree into a leading global financial innovator with record assets under management of
$107.2 billion as ofMarch 31, 2024 . -
Under Mr. Steinberg’s leadership, WisdomTree has seen revenue growth of greater than 25x, from
$13 million in 1997 to$349 million in 2023, and his ongoing commitment to WisdomTree and our mission and vision has clearly solidified our current position of strength and potential. -
Mr. Steinberg continuously looks ahead for the next generation of innovative financial products, such as tokenization and blockchain-enabled finance. He is an early adopter of tokenization and has successfully executed on WisdomTree’s early mover advantage in digital assets. Without him, WisdomTree would neither exist, nor be where it is today.
Vote “FOR”
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Mr. Bossone has expertise in global finance, accounting and compliance and provides the industry knowledge, experience and technical skillset needed to evaluate WisdomTree’s business model and strategy. -
He sits on the Board’s Audit Committee and was previously Audit Committee Chair before we rotated Committee Chairs in 2023. He plays an important role on this committee and contributes his extensive audit, accounting, reporting and regulatory compliance expertise. He also supports and provides institutional knowledge to the new Audit Chair,
Lynn S. Blake , who joined the Board in 2022 and was appointed as Audit Chair in 2023. - Outside of WisdomTree, he directs and oversees Atlantic-Pacific Capital’s global financial accounting, reporting and regulatory compliance functions as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, which is directly relevant to WisdomTree as we navigate the regulatory landscape across our business.
Vote “FOR”
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Mr. Neuger has decades of experience in senior management positions in the asset management industry. No other Board member, apart fromMr. Steinberg , has as many years of experience navigating every critical moment across our industry – from high and low economic cycles to understanding each new trend that has shaped the financial services industry to where it is today. - He holds a deep understanding of WisdomTree’s business model and strategy and expertise in ETFs, accounting and financial reporting.
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Outside of WisdomTree, he previously led the management of AIG’s global investment portfolio with
$753 billion in assets.
In 2023, the Board unanimously appointed
It is critical that stockholders vote “FOR” all nine of WisdomTree’s directors, including its longer-tenured directors,
In summary, the current composition of WisdomTree’s Board is optimal. The facts speak for themselves:
- Six of our nine directors were appointed since 2021.
- 100% of our directors who joined the Board since 2021 are diverse.
- 67% of our directors are women.
- 100% of our directors other than our CEO are independent.
- Four years average tenure of our current independent directors.
- Four of our directors, including our three longer-standing directors, have extensive ETF experience.
- Three of our new directors have experience in the digital assets industry.
- Three of our directors have valuable institutional knowledge of WisdomTree.
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Two of our new directors were originally proposed by
ETFS Capital .
Under the leadership of our nine current directors, including our three seasoned directors, WisdomTree has achieved best-in-class organic growth among its peers and is well-positioned to continue executing our current strategy. Mr. Tuckwell’s misguided campaign will only serve to disrupt this strong momentum.
Together, our nine current directors ensure that we have the best possible expertise and experience to oversee the Company’s strategy and advance the best interests of the Company and all our stockholders. Vote “FOR” our directors on the WHITE proxy card to show that enough is enough.
Sincerely,
WisdomTree Board of Directors
Independent Chair of the Board
YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT!
PLEASE VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY “FOR” ALL WISDOMTREE NOMINEES!
Remember, you can vote your shares via the Internet. Please follow the easy instructions on the enclosed WHITE proxy card.
If you have any questions or need assistance in voting
your shares on the
WHITE
proxy card, please contact our proxy solicitor:
Stockholders and All Others Call Toll Free: (877) 750-5836 Banks and Brokers Call: (212) 750-5833 |
Advisors
About WisdomTree
WisdomTree is a global financial innovator, offering a well-diversified suite of exchange-traded products (ETPs), models, solutions and products leveraging blockchain technology. We empower investors and consumers to shape their future and support financial professionals to better serve their clients and grow their businesses. WisdomTree is leveraging the latest financial infrastructure to create products that provide access, transparency and an enhanced user experience. Building on our heritage of innovation, we are also developing and have launched next-generation digital products, services and structures, including digital or blockchain-enabled mutual funds and tokenized assets, as well as our blockchain-native digital wallet, WisdomTree Prime®.*
*The WisdomTree Prime digital wallet and digital asset services are made available through
WisdomTree currently has approximately
For more information about WisdomTree and WisdomTree Prime®, visit: https://www.wisdomtree.com.
Please visit us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @WisdomTreeNews.
WisdomTree® is the marketing name for
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this letter that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are identified by use of the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “views,” and similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated, including, but not limited to, the impact and contributions of the slate of director nominees WisdomTree has nominated, and WisdomTree’s ability to achieve its financial and business plans, goals and objectives and drive stockholder value, including with respect to its ability to successfully implement its strategy relating to WisdomTree Prime®, and other risk factors discussed from time to time in WisdomTree’s filings with the
Important Information Regarding the 2024 Annual Meeting and Where to Find It
The Company has filed with the
Certain Information Regarding Participants in the Solicitation
The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in connection with the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, of the Company’s directors and executive officers in the Company is included in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters”, which was filed with the
Category: Business Update
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2 Glass Lewis 2024 Benchmark Policy Guidelines, page 26.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240513907554/en/
Investor Relations
+1.917.267.3859
Jeremy.campbell@wisdomtree.com
Media Relations
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H/Advisors Abernathy
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